Rochester is unabashed in its support of local talent that makes good. Indeed, Sunday was to be a day for basking in the reflected glow of hometown diva Renée Fleming, the first opera star to sing the National Anthem at a Super Bowl. With the bulletin that Fairport native Hoffman had died coming just hours earlier, the region instead found itself grappling with a shocking and unexpected loss.

Hoffman was hard not to like - whether onscreen in dozens of varied yet always vivid performances or, say those who knew him, in person. He maintained an everyman persona that only added heft to his performances. He was consistently adept at colorful supporting roles, such as in Charlie Wilson's War, or at carrying a film, such as his Oscar-winning title role in Capote. His stage work was equally admired. Negative reviews were a rarity.

But if acclaim could tame demons, the list of talented performers who have fallen victim to addiction would be far shorter. Celebrated entertainers of all disciplines - actors, writers, singers, comedians - even with the access to treatment and counseling their means provide, have lost battles against bottles, pills, needles and depression. It is a cautionary tale that seems to be on a continuous loop.

If reports of heroin use are borne out in Hoffman's case, difficult questions remain. Among them, the likely unanswerable "why?"

At just 46, Hoffman may yet have had his best acting ahead of him, if one can imagine him improving. Movie fans will have to make do with an impressive catalog of past work to suffice for the roles left unfilled. Meantime, Rochesterians are casting about for an appropriate way to honor Hoffman (see www.facebook.com/whatsuprochester) - the homegrown actor who reached the apex of his profession by imbuing his characters with a vulnerability and complexity that he didn't just portray but, ultimately, embodied.